Boston Marathon is a triumph of the spirit

Tuesday

Apr 16, 2013 at 12:01 AMApr 16, 2013 at 4:23 PM

The sorrow and shock that is felt now because of the tragedy of April 15 will evolve into resolve and perseverance. Runners will return and those who love to watch this hallowed race will put on a powerful show of civic pride and turn out in record numbers.

Mark Torpey

They say it has changed forever.

They say that the 26.2-mile celebration of pride and perseverance, our annual tribute to guts and glory, will never be the same.

They say the bombs that exploded on Monday, shattering lives as well as limbs, also tore a hole into the soul of the Boston Marathon, forever casting a pall over the 117-year institution.

Perhaps they’re right.

And perhaps they’re wrong.

In the wake of the horrifying blasts on Boylston Street that killed three and sent more than 170 to the hospital, pundits have declared that the Marathon will never be the same, that it can never recover from a disaster of this magnitude.

Perhaps it’s the nature of the Marathon that makes Monday’s disaster seem all the more horrifying. The annual Patriot’s Day extravaganza is not so much a sporting event as it is a joyous tribute to the human spirit. With the exception of the elite runners, the Marathon field is made up of common folks who have worked hard and sacrificed much to fulfill a dream. This is what makes the Marathon so special among the nation’s major sporting events. You won’t see grandmothers and amputees and blind people playing in the Super Bowl or World Series. And you won’t see grandfathers and disabled veterans and those running for a cause competing in the NHL or NBA playoffs. You will, though, see those kinds of hearty souls competing on the third Monday in April in Massachusetts.

You’ll also see more than half a million spectators lining the route from Hopkinton to Boston, cheering and pleading and pushing the runners to carry on, to put mind over matter, to force the spirit to triumph over the body. It is an extraordinary bond between competitor and spectator not found in any other sport.

For now, speculation about the future of the Marathon should be put on hold for the more important tasks at hand, such as mourning the dead, healing the wounded, and bringing whoever committed this atrocity to justice.

Eventually, though, the impact the bombings have had on the Marathon will be addressed. Those emotional scars will no doubt be prominent in the minds of Bostonians when the 118th edition of the race is scheduled to commence.

Much like the marathoners for whom they cheer, Bostonians are a determined and gritty bunch, so the guess here is that on April 21, 2014, the sorrow and shock that is felt now will have evolved to resolve and perseverance. And while they won’t forget the tragedy of April 15, 2013, Bostonians will not be intimidated into cowering in their homes. No, the runners will return and those who love to watch this hallowed race will put on a powerful show of civic pride and turn out in record numbers.